Our darkest moments
by CookieDuo
Summary: Discovering her entire life has been a lie, Caroline is determined to find out the truth and travels to the small town Mystic Falls in search of answers. Meanwhile, in the woods outside of Mystic Falls, a "monster" prays on unsuspecting young woman. In time the connection between the two becomes clear... Dark Klaroline!
1. Chapter 1

The fog crept between the trees slowly, covering the moist forest floor inch by inch. Summer had gone and autumn was fast approaching, the leaves on the trees changing color before releasing their hold, sailing through the air and landing on the ground, painting it red and orange as they settled by the tree-trunks.

A branch snapping could be heard in the distance, a growl increasing in volume was approaching its prey.

Heavy breaths and quiet terrifed sobs sounding from behind a large rock.

The full moon was high on the sky, casting a shimmering light on the forest, the fog reflecting its light and causing a mesmerising image.

Another branch snapping. Closer this time. Just on the other side of the rock.

She held her breath and closed her eyes, clutching her messenger-bag to her chest tightly.

Nothing happened, she thought she was safe. Opening her eyes she stretched out her legs and let another sob escape, freezing when a hot breath fanned over her neck, brushing a brunette curl against her cheek.

Looking down at its prey from its position on top of the rock she'd been hiding behind, the animal could smell the fear and panick coursing through her veins. She stretched out her legs and it leaned in closer, its breath alerting her to its presence.

She froze before slowly turning her head, green eyes locking with yellow glowing orbs and before she had time to fully register the magnitude of her fear and let a scream erupt from her throat it was already over.

The predator attacked his prey and before she had time to scream it was already over.

Her eyes were wide open and empty, all the life having drained from them along with her blood leaving her body. The animal pierced the flesh on her shoulder after her death and pulled her with it deeper into the woods, seeking the privacy of the darkness. A fresh blood trail marking the way it had taken, a thick line of blood forming a path from the place of death to the place of rest, hidden deep within the shadow of the forest.

In a brief moment, the creature stepped into the light and looked up at the moon, a raven black wolf nearly as large as a bear.

It turned and crept back towards its victim, taking cover in the shadows where the monsters belonged.

* * *

It was almost night by the time she reached her destination; cutting off the engine and jumping out of her car she took a deep breath before she walked through the gates leading into the graveyard.  
She let her eyes pass over every passing gravestone, trying to find the one name she was looking for.

She had searched almost the entire cemetary and was about to give up when something caught her attention out the corner of her eye.

Walking over and kneeling down in front of a white marble she let her fingers brush softly over the name ingraved on the stone.

_"Caroline Mystic ~1994~" _

"Mystic" she murmured and straightened up again, folding her arms and looking down at the strangely paininducing stone.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around to come face to face with some kind of care-taker, his eyes were suspicious when he took her in.

"What are you doing here? The cemetary is closed." she nodded and stepped back.

"I'm sorry, I... I'll leave right now," walking swiftly back the way she'd come, she ignored his eyes on her back and used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe away a few unwanted tears, having escaped at some point.

Getting back in her car she took a couple of minutes to collect herself, she had no idea where this sudden onslought of emotions had come from. All her life she'd been guarded about her emotions, never letting anyone but the people closest to her see her "human" side, but something about coming here and having her entire existence proven to have been nothing but a lie, something inside of her just cracked.

She had spent her entire life believing she was Caroline Forbes, born to parents Liz and Bill Forbes in a small town just outside of West-Virginia. Suburban neighborhood, nice large house with a white-picket fence, dog named Bruiser, and everything she ever wanted or needed, that's how she grew up. She was a happy kid, she had loving parents and a better life than most, but twenty years later and she learns that it was all a lie.

Her biological parents gave her up to protect her, from what or who she had no idea. They convinced the entire town and everyone they knew that she died the day she was born; she even has her very own white marble toombstone to prove it.

How did she know all this?

Three days ago, right after her moms funeral, she received an anonymous letter. Telling her to look into the name Caroline Mystic and providing her with information that revealed her entire life to have been a well conceived lie.

After doing some digging of her own she traced the last name Falls to belong to a family originating out of a small town in Virginia. Mystic Falls, oh the irony...

She had no idea where she was going, driving around aimlessly trying to find somewhere to crash for the night. She needed a good nights sleep to think over where to go from here, she couldn't go back home because she didn't know where that was anymore and she didn't have any family to go to. Maybe she could stick around Mystic Falls for a while, do a little digging into her family-history, her biological families history.

A battered sign a little way up the road read "Salvatore Boardinghouse" and considering the state of the sign, she doubted the boardinghouse was still in business, but it was late and she decided to risk it. Besides, judging by the increasing wind and the ominous looking clouds, a storm was fast approaching.

She leaned forward over the steering wheel and looked through the windshield that was drenched with rain, she was driving down a long gravel pathway towards a large old-looking inn-style type of house.

"Great," she sighed and slumped back against the seat after putting the car in park, deciding not to turn off the engine just yet, leaving the heat on. The house was completely dark and she doubted anyone had been there for a while, she bit her lip and looked back at the duffel-bag she'd thrown in the back-seat.

No one seemed to be home and it wasn't like she was going to steal or anything, she just wanted somewhere to crash for one night and besides, one little act of breaking and entering wasn't that bad considering she might freeze to death if she stayed in the car all night.

"It's just for one night," she told herself and reached back to grab her duffel, shutting off the car and jumping out. She held the bag over her head as she ran towards the front door, that didn't stop the rain from drenching her.

"Hello?!" Ringing the doorbell and slamming her fist against the door just to make sure no one was home, she continued like that for a couple of minutes until she was sure there was no one there.

When she was sixteen she'd had a bit of a rebellious outbreak. She ran away from home and got involved with a group of people that weren't all that good, but she did learn a thing or two though, like how to pick a lock.  
Pulling a pin out of her hair she positioned it in the doorlock and twisted until she heard the click that signaled the door was open.

"Thank god for rebellious teens," she muttered and pushed open the door, picking up her bag she stepped over the thresh-hold and let the door close behind her. For a minute she stood in complete darkness, dragging her hand along the wall until she found the lightswitch.

Blinking to let her eyes adjust to the sudden brightness she shrugged out of her coat and pulled her wet hair into a messy bun, the water was dripping from the end of her strands, causing her to shiver when they slipped under her shirt and down her back.

The place was huge! A large livingroom/library was the first thing she walked into, then if she continued past the stairs she found a large well-stocked kitchen and to her utter excitement, she found a completely stocked barcabinet.

Trailing her hand up the railing, she took her time walking up to the second floor. There were a lot of rooms, so once upon a time it had most likely been some kind of bead and breakfast, now the whole place seemed cold and abandoned.  
She walked into a room at the end of the hall and switched on the lights and was extatic to find the bathroom, with a bathtub! A bath sounded so good at that moment.

Without giving it a second thought she stepped out of her drenched clothes and pulled on a bathrobe she found hanging on the door, not the most hygienic, she knew but she hadn't had a shower in days so she really didn't care all that much.

The closest room next to the bathroom was a large bedroom with a very comfy looking large double bed and windows with a view of the grand estate. She walked over to the window and took a look outside at the trees blowing in the wind before shutting the blinds and turning away.

Spotting a record-player on a large mahogany desk just left of the windows, she rifled through the pile of vinyls that lay next to it. Grinning she picked up "AC/DC" and put it on the player, before crossing the room to the dresser positioned opposite the bed. She ruffled through the clothing inside and grabbed a black mens t-shirt that was way too big for her, but it would do for sleeping in.

Whil she waited for the bathtub to fill she checked her reflection in the mirror, who was she?

Who was the girl looking back at her, because according to society, she didn't exist.

There has never been a record of a Caroline Forbes being born in 1994 anywhere in all of the U.S, she'd checked. Twice.

There was however, a record of a Caroline Falls being born October 10th 1994 in Mystic Falls, the day of her birthday.

"Who are you?" asking her reflection and expecting an answer may not exactly be considered brilliant, but she couldn't help but wonder what she would have said if she could.

Dropping the robe to the floor she lowered down into the warm water and closed her eyes just as she felt her tense muscles loosening up, the stress and uncertainty of the past couple of months really, all washing away for a brief moment of time.

As she lay there and allowed herself to drift off into oblivion, she thought about how she'd ended up there in the first place. About who could have sent her that letter, and why whoever it was had done it, did it.

Dozens of scenarios ran through her mind, but none of them made any sense. She though at first it might have been her biological parents, but after some digging she'd discovered that they had seemingly vanished two years after her birth. One day they were managing the local cafe, and the next they were just gone, it was like they never even existed.

She had no idea how long she'd been in the bath when she finally got up, but the water was considerably more chilly and the AC/DC vinyl had stopped playing a long time ago. She wiped herself off and pulled on clean dry underwear that she'd grabbed from her duffel at some point. The shirt she'd found to use as nightwear reached her mid-thigh and it had a very distinct male scent that she kind of enjoyed. She wondered who used to live here, at least she knew he had style.

Draining the tub, she brushed her teeth and switched off the bathroom light, she had a small craving for a drink but her body was screaming for sleep and she figured the barcabinet would always be there tomorrow.

"Mmm, this is nice," she pulled the covers all the way up to her chin and snuggled into her very large, very fluffy pillow. Maybe, for once, she'd actually get a good nights sleep.

* * *

Stefan Salvatore stood just inside the tree-line, looking at the boardhouse and up at the second story window that belonged to his brothers room. He could hear the steady heartbeat of the blonde he'd watched break into his family-home two hours ago, she was moving between the bathroom and the bedroom. He heard her humming softly to herself as she walked about and switched off lights, he heard her bare feet against the floor when she jogged down the stairs and a moment later he saw her as she stepped into the livingroom.

For a second he was sure she was looking right at him, but then she shook her subtly and drew the curtains closed, the lights flicking of a second later and then the twist of the doorlock sounded.

"Mmm, this is nice," he smiled when he heard her voice from inside his brothers room and imagined the look on Damons face if he knew she'd been sleeping in his bed. Damon never let anyone spend the night in his bed.

Never.

Stefan pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the redial button, lifting it to his ear.

"Yes?" he stepped further back into the shadows and leaned back against a tree.

"You know the one we've been looking for... She's here." he hung up the phone and folded his arms. Now that the information was delivered he knew it was only a matter of time before he had company. The blonde in his home had no idea just how long they had been looking for her, or just how important she was. But, he knew one thing for sure.

Her life was about to change drastically.


	2. Chapter 2: Vampires and Bleeding girls

_Yellow eyes were staring back at her. Big bright orbs with so much depth to them, she could get lost in all the thoughts and emotions she imagined swirling around in there. Even as she thought this, she was extremely aware that she was facing a lethal predator that could end her life with a single precise slash of claws of sharp canines tearing through her throat. Swallowing nervously she rose slowly, freezing for an instant as the large wolf growled deep in its throat, before she understood the growl was only a warning, as if it was saying "no-sudden-movements", as if she had a deathwish... _

_She was uncertain of what to do now, this wasn't exactly a situation she was familiar with, but the only thing she knew was that even so much as thinking about running would be the singularily most idiotic move she had ever made. Everyone knew that running from a wolf was a bad idea, wolves loved to chase down their prey and she had no intention of being somebody's dinner tonight._

__**_Crack! _**

_Turning her head she tried to see where the sound was coming from, but there was nothing. Turning back to the wolf, it seemed oblivious to the sound, its gaze trained solely on her and she had the sudden realization that whatever happened tonight... she wouldn't be the one deciding her faith._

**_Crack, Crack, Crack!_**

Caroline woke with a jolt, her eyes blinking open slowly as she fought of the last remnants of a dream that made no sense. For a second she forgot where she was, sitting up she clutched the sheets to her chest and as her eyes traveled around the unfamiliar room, it all came back to her and she exhaled heavily as she sank back into the bed, one hand going up to fist in her hair before she let go of her damp strands and dropped her hand by her side. What the hell was she doing here? She had no idea where to even begin looking for answers, who did she think she was; Nancy Drew?

"God, Caroline, you're such a-" _**Crack! **_

Snapping upright, she tried to locate that damn sound and what the hell it was. She knew it wasn't creaking floorboards, sure it was an old house, but she'd walked on the floors and she knew what a creaking floorboard sounded like. It was more like someone tapping on the window... the window! Turning her head to face the window, she saw the moon high on the sky, it wasn't a full moon but it was just as beautiful with all the stars surrounding it on the clear nightsky. Shifting her eyes she saw a treebranch and realized the sound was the branch being smacked against the window at every windtoss.

Nothing strange about that, it had happened all the time in her home when she was a kid. Huffing she threw back the covers and walked over to the window, pushing it open enough that she could reach out and grab the branch she considered the thickness off it, wondered if she was strong enough to break it off, turned out it was just a little bit to thick for her to do much about it. Pulling back her hand she closed the window again and leaned against the windowsill, her mind drifting back to the weird dream and those yellow eyes that had seemed so familiar and yet she had never seen a wolf her entire life. She'd always been fascinated by the animals, there was just something about them that she found utterly amazing. They were such strong, proud animals, and despite being predators they weren't monsters like so many wanted to think. They were no different from humans in many ways; they did what they had to do in order to survive and the people who looked down on them for that were hipocrits, she'd always thought so at least.

Figuring she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now that she was pretty much wide awake, she decided to do some exploring. Flicking on the light by the bed she walked around the room she'd occupied for the night, trying to figure out what kind of person had lived there before. Male she knew, from the records and the clothes she figured he was young, possibly a bad boy of the worst kind. Based upon the state of the room when she got here, he was either a neat freak or they used to have cleaning help when someone still lived here. She knew this had been an inn, probably a long time ago, but this room belonged to someone, it wasn't a room for guests, it was too personalized for that.

Moving on from the bedroom she walked into the hall and flicked on the ceiling lights, walking down the hall she pushed open the closed doors and peaked inside the rooms, trying to determined whether there had been others actually living here before or if the sole owner of the house had been the one in which room she was sleeping in. Most of them were rooms void of anything but beds and dusted curtains, there was another room that showed signs of a person having lived there, but that too had to have been a while ago. She wondered what had happened to them, where they were and what had made them leave in the first place.

Finally after what could have been hours she decided to head downstairs and get something to eat, it had been almost twenty-four hours since she had a decent meal and her stomach was starting to rebel, sounding like an angry grizzly. To her surprise she found a pantry filled with food of all kinds; bread, rice, potatoes and other ripe vedgetables. Everything she needed to make a good meal, although some meat wouldn't hurt... Deciding to check the fridge on the off-chance that there was actually something edible in there, she was extatic to find eggs and ham that seemed okay, and cheese, everything she needed to make a killer omelette. Whoever had lived here hadn't been gone for long, and while she wasn't exactly proud of her little b&amp;e and stealing their food once she was at it, a girl had to eat, right?

* * *

Stefan had tracked the scent of the decaying body far into the woods surrounding the Salvatore house. He had caught the scent on the wind about an hour after the girl had fallen asleep, and had decided to check it out to see if their hunch had been right all along. Having located the spot where the body was buried he brushed away the pile of leaves on top of the unmarked grave and used his hands to dig away enough of the dirt to see the face of the body, another girl. Her eyes were open, clouded over with a white haze and despite his urge to dig her up and take her somewhere where she'd be found and returned to her family, he couldn't do it yet.

"What is that god-awful stench?" gently closing the girls eyes Stefan rose and turned to face the owner of the posh female voice.  
"It's your brothers latest victim" he told her and walked over to take her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her temple before stepping back with one arm wrapped around her shoulder as two other figures joined them in the small clearing the girl was buried in.  
"Brother, would you care to explain why there is a girl in our house making omelettes?" Stefan arched a brow as Damon walked over to glance down at the body, before returning his eyes to Stefan.  
"I didn't know she was awake, an hour ago she was fast asleep." Elijah had a contemplative look on his face as he looked down on the dead girl, dressed in a pristine suit that Rebekah had once told him she was positive he slept in, he took a look at the surroundings and cocked his head as if listening for something.  
"Niklaus is no longer here, this girl have been dead for days" his words were quiet, but they all knew what lay underneath. It would only be a matter of time before another body showed up, and time was something they were running out of.

"Yes, yes, we all know he's spiraling Elijah. It's been happening for the past twenty years, it's nothing new. Now are we going to see the girl or just stand here and sing campsongs?" Rebekah, they knew, had always favored Klaus of all her siblings, and she tried hiding her pain beneath thick layers of sarcasm and attitude but inside she was more scared than all of them.  
"We can't just ambush her, Bekah. She probably doesn't have any idea about the supernatural world surrounding her, she's gonna run screaming if we all show up and tell her we're vampires and need her to stop a thousand year old hybrid on a deadly rampage." Stefan told her calmly, pulling her closer as she huffed in annoyance.  
"How do we even know she's the one? We've been looking for the puny little human for nearly twenty years, why now?" Stefan shared a glance with Elijah, the original rubbing his jaw thoughtfully as he spoke.  
"We know she is the one Rebekah, you do as well. We cannot all approach her at the moment, we need to wait for Freya to find all the components we need for the spell before we take action. She and Kol are working on the last remaining items as we speak. In the meantime, someone has to watch over the girl, make sure Niklaus does not get to her first. Preferably you or me Rebekah, while I appreciate everything both of you are doing, neither one of you are prepared or strong enough to take on my brother should it turn into a fight." Damon snorted but he didn't object, he'd tangled with the original hybrid once before and damn near got his heart ripped out if Elijah hadn't intervened on his behalf. He didn't have much to live for, that didn't mean he wanted to die.

"Fine, I'll keep an eye on her, you boys go do whatever it is you need to do." Elijah was about to respond when another windtoss scented the air with fresh blood and all of their instincts sharpened, Stefan's eyes snapping towards the boardinghouse.

* * *

"Damn it!" clutching her hand where she'd managed to slice a long gash just above her wrist she searched through cupboards until she found a clean cloth and carried it over to the sink. What she really needed was some sanitizer to clean the wound, but she was bleeding like a gutted pig and right now she just wanted to get the damn wound fixed up. It was definetely deep enough that she'd need stitches, but she was no doctor and driving herself with one bad arm in the middle of the night didn't seem like a good idea, not when she was bleeding so heavily she'd probably pass out at any second as it was.

"Focus" she muttered to herself as she turned off the faucet and wrapped the cloth around her arm, running up to the bedroom she found a belt and tightened it around the cloth so it wouldn't fall off. Her mind was starting to become blurry, dizziness overpowering her until she stumbled back to sit on the bed. She tried putting her head between her legs and taking breaths, but all she could see was the blood dripping onto the floor from her arm and she thought that maybe she'd cut something vital and now she was going to die because she was a clutz. Caroline was moments from passing out when she swore she heard voices from the first floor, it was probably just her mind playing tricks on her, but then she heard boots on the stairs and the last thing she remembered before it all went black was a pair of black leather boots by the puddle of blood on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3: Not so human after all

"Well isn't she pretty" Damon drawled where he stood by the window, looking over at the bed at the unconcious blonde that was cause of all his trouble lately.  
"Hmm, yes she's a looker isn't she" Rebekah agreed as she lifted the girls arm, examining the wound on her wrist that should have been lethal, and yet she was breathing.  
"Anyone care to take a guess on why she's still breathing?" Stefan walked into the room at that moment, a glass of water and a sewing-kit along with bandages in his hands.  
"Maybe it's because she's linked to my brother" Rebekah suggested absently, but Elijah shook his head, his presence that of a protector where he stood watching over the girl he hoped was the key to his younger brothers redemption.  
"The link is not yet strong enough for her to survive such a wound, there is something else keeping her alive. Stefan, you have what I asked?" nodding the younger vampire handed him the bandages and the sewing kit and stood off to the side as Elijah took the girls arm from Rebekah, inspecting the gash before he cleaned it and went to stitch it up with elegant sewtures.  
"Then how is she still alive?" that seemed to be the question didn't it?  
"Why are you stitching her up when we can just give her some blood and get it over with, it's not like it will kill her or anything." Again Elijah shook his head as he gently put her arm down on the bed and used a towel he'd gotten from the bathroom to wipe the blood of his hands.  
"We cannot risk it, if she dies with vampire blood in her system she will turn and that is not a risk we can afford at the moment. Not with my brother lurking so close, make no mistake, my brother is hunting this girl with the intention of murder and we cannot allow that to happen."

They all knew what would happen if the girl died, a part of the original hybrids deteriorating soul would be forever lost, and this girl was the key to restoring his humanity whether they liked it or not.  
"Are you sure about this 'Lijah, don't you think perhaps we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here? Even if Kol and Freya succeeds in attaining the spell, it is a still a slim possibility it will even work." Rebekah was right, there was a lot of key oponents to their plan that could not be compromized, the smallest mishap and it would all be over before it even began but Elijah had to remain hopeful because he refused to lose his brother again, that was simply not an option.  
"We have no choice but to attempt it sister, none of us would like the outcome of what happens should we fail." And no one said anything because they all knew he was right.  
"Maybe we should take this conversation downstairs, she'll be scared to wake up and find herself surrounded by four unfamiliar faces and might just decide to make a break for it. Like you said, we can't afford any mistakes at this point." Rebekah rolled her eyes, even if the girl did attempt to run, there was four of them and only one of her, however she was willing to play along for the time being. If this little blonde human was in fact the girl they had spent the past two centuries searching for, then she agreed that no harm could fall upon her, this human was officially the most well protected human being in the history of mankind.

* * *

Caroline came to with a groan, her head was pounding and her wrist was aching, but other than that she felt fine. What she couldn't understand was how the hell she'd gotten herself in bed and was that... had she stitched herself up without remembering having done it? _No. _She'd seen something before she passed out... a pair of leather boots, and voices, there had been several of them.

Pushing up in a sitting position she leaned back against the headboard of the bed and lifted her arm to inspect her wrist, the sutures were nice, almost professionally done and even if she had done them herself she would have never been able to make them look so nice. Absently one hand slid up to clutch at the necklace resting over her heart, she'd had for as long as she could remember. A gift for her baptism from one of her parents friends, a Sheila something, Bennett was it? She'd never met the woman, but as she got older her mom had made her promise never to take the thing off, to keep it with her at all times and Caroline never broke her promises. It was a silver chain with a black emerald shaped stone of some kind, kyanite she thought it was told.

Sighing she cracked her neck and stretched her arms above her head, wincing a little as the stitches grew taut against her skin, all in all she was doing pretty good. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she placed her bare feet on the floor and gripped the edge of the bed, trying to remember exactly what she'd heard before she passed out. There had been at least three, maybe four voices, one was distinctly female but she was pretty sure the others were male. They'd been bickering about something, but _what?_

"Oh calm down brother, it's not like I'm going to eat her or anything" Carolines head snapped up at the sound of the approaching voice, definetely male and arrogant, and she didn't know how she knew but there was something very unsettlingly dangerous about that voice. Reaching for her duffle by the edge of the bed she pulled it softly towards her, rummaging through it quietly until she discovered what she'd been searching for. Crawling back into bed she pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes, willing her rapid pulse to calm down enough for whoever was about to come into the room, to believe her to be sleeping.

Steps approaching the bed, a hand trailing along the edge of the bedframe, then a shadow fell over her and not giving it a second thought she rolled over to the other side of the bed and landed on the floor in a standing position. She had a gun trained on the tall male with the dark hair and penetrating gaze a second later, goosebumps raising as he grinned at her.  
"Well, well, look who's awake" he mused and she flicked off the safety on the gun, an unfamiliar part of her brain whispering the word _vampire.  
_"Stay right there" she ordered, her voice sounding strong and unaffected by his presence.  
"Why aren't you the brave one, but see honey, that little gun of yours won't hurt me." So fast she didn't have a chance of seeing it, he was right in front of her, his hand on the gun and before he could wrench it away she pulled the trigger and he groaned as he staggered back and fell down on the bed. Not giving him a chance to rise she fired another round, taking a few steps back in the process.  
"Son of a bitch!" he growled as he stared down at his chest.  
"Vervain?" he all but hissed the words and before she could reply the gun was taken from her hands and she sucked in a breath as the room was suddenly filled with three more people. _Vampires _that voice said again and she swallowed as she backed up, her eyes shifting between the four of them, gauging the gap to the door to see if she could make a break for it. Her chances were slim given how fast they were, either one of them could kill her before she had so much as taken a step, the fact that one of them had taken the time to stitch her up told her they didn't want her dead, but she couldn't be sure.

"Damon, you okay?" the vampire on the bed grunted a reply as he dug out the bullets she'd planted in him, a murderous look in his eyes that had her narrowing her own, if he wanted to kill her then he could go ahead, but she damn well wasn't going down without a fight.  
"The bullets are laced with vervain" Damon muttered as he flicked the second bullet onto the floor and suddenly four pair of eyes was trained on her.  
"The fact that you know that means you're a vampire" she said calmly glaring at him, daring him to object when they both knew it was true.  
"And how do you know about vampires?" turning her gaze to the female voice she locked eyes with the tall blonde, she was polished from head to toe, the way Caroline had been polished before circumstances changed and she'd been forced to change.  
"This isn't my first run-in with your kind" she said with a sigh and slid down the wall to wrap her hands around her raised knees.  
"So what now? You going to kill me?" Another male, the one with the pristine suit stepped forward and reached out a hand, she eyed it and him cautiously before accepting it and allowing him to pull her to her feet.  
"I assure we have no such intentions miss..." swallowing she retracted her hand and folded both arms across her chest.  
"Caroline" she said and he smiled at her, and she had a startling realization that while this may well be the most dangerous of them all, he meant her no harm.  
"Pleasure to make your aquaintance Caroline, I am Elijah Mikaelson. This is my sister Rebekah, and these two gentlemen are Stefan and Damon Salvatore" she blinked as that last name settled in.  
"As in Salvatore-boardinghouse?"  
"Would you look at that, she has a brain" Caroline smothered the urge to go for Damon's throat, not that she'd be able to do much harm, but the prick was really getting on her nerves.  
"So I broke into a vampires nest, freaking great" she muttered and the four of the exchanged curious glances.  
"Did you just say vampires nest?" huffing she glared at the idiot she was itching to shoot again.  
"Have you never seen Supernatural? What else am I supposed to think, huh? I pass out after cutting myself making breakfast and wake up to find myself trapped in the house with four vampires, and if you're thinking about feeding from me, don't bother. I drink vervain regularly and inject myself with dead mans blood, a girl can never be too careful these days."

Rebekah stared at her like she was something a magician had pulled out of his hat and for every second she was getting more and more aggravated, her temper rising to a point where she knew it was only a matter of time before she lashed out at someone.  
"Did you just say dead mans blood?" turning around she threw up her arms in exasperation and stalked over to stand in Damon's face.  
"Seriously, are you a parrot or something?! Repeating everything I say!" without thinking she pushed hard against his chest and was shocked when he flew across the bed and hit the wall by the window with a resounding crash. Staring blankly down at her hands, she swallowed and stumbled back, what was happening to her?  
"You didn't turn me, did you?" her voice was barely above a whisper, her entire world crumbling around her to so much dust it was hard to breathe.  
"That's it blondie" Damon snapped and went for her, acting on instinct when he came toward her she reached out and snapped his neck like it was nothing, his body crumpling to the ground by her feet and then she was pretty sure she was hyperventilating.

"Oh my god, you did, didn't you? You turned me! This can't be happening, I can't be a vampire, I _can't be_" rushing by the stunned vampires that was still standing she made it to the bathroom and gripped the sink tightly, staring at her own reflection in quiet terror as she opened her mouth to try and see if she could spot them. Nothing, no fangs or elongated teeth, but how was it possible?

* * *

Elijah stood staring in the direction of the bathroom, the door was open and he watched as Caroline turned her head from side to side and up and down, searching for incissors he knew she would not find.  
"What the bloody hell is going on Elijah?" Rebekah demanded as she did the same, and he found himself considering the same thing, until the girl turned back around and he caught sight of the pendant around her neck.  
"It would seem the girl is more than we could have imagined" he said quietly, suddenly aware that they were not the only ones with enhanced senses, not if his suspicions proved correct.  
"Care to share with the rest of us?" Stefan said as he came to join them, arms folded he glanced back at his brother before his gaze shifted to the human girl who wasn't all that human it appeared.  
"In a moment" was all Elijah said before he left them to go speak with Caroline when she looked at them with eyes filled with confusion and fear.

* * *

"What's happening to me?" her voice was close to a sob, tears threatening to spill from her eyes and when Elijah to her suprise pulled her into his arms in an embrace she didn't object. She was so scared that she'd take comfort from even a vampire, she had no idea what to do or what was going on, all she wanted was some answers.  
"You are not a vampire Caroline, that much I can promise you. May I ask you a few questions?" sniffling as she pulled out of his embrace she nodded and leaned against him as he lead her back into the room and positioned her on the bed before kneeling down in front of her.  
"How long have you had this necklace?" frowning she glanced down at the thing around her neck and wrapped one hand around it.  
"Since I was a baby, it was a gift for my baptism."  
"Do you know who gave it to you?" strange how she'd just remembered all of this earlier.  
"Uhm, Sheila Bennet I think her name is, I've never met her but she was a friend of my parents. Why?" Elijah rubbed his jaw and rose to his feet again.  
"Because, that pendant is not simply a necklace Caroline, it is a moonlight amulet. A magical amulet created to give a werewolf control over his or hers abilities without needing the full moon." Caroline blinked up at him, was he serious?

"She's a bloody werewolf?!" Rebekah snapped and Elijah raised a hand to silence her.  
"Caroline, have you ever accidentally or purposely taken a life?" Caroline tensed up at the question and that right there was all the answer they needed.  
"So," Rebekah murmured and looked down at Caroline with a calculating look, "the plot thickens."


	4. Chapter 4: Secrets and Shadows

Caroline stood outside the boardinghouse, her arms folded as the gentle breeze played with strands of her hair. She could hear the murmured conversation from inside, knew at least one of them was watching her and all she wanted to do was get into her car, drive back out of the state and pretend none of this had ever happened.

_"Do you think he knows?" _Her ears sharpened at the quiet, almost worried question spoken in a soft female voice and Caroline wondered who this "he" they kept talking about was. It seemed like they were deliberately holding back a name from her, like they were afraid she'd run or something. Truth was, two hours ago she would have, but now... now she was even more desperate for answers and vampires or not, her new companions seemed to have some of the knowledge she was looking for and she _needed to know. _

Blocking out the hushed conversation from inside the house, her mind jumped back to the conversation with Elijah and what he'd revealed about her and the necklace, her hand wrapping around it unconciously as she replayed the conversation in her mind.

_"Caroline, have you ever accidentally or purposely taken a life?" The way he'd said it, as if he already knew what she'd done. The memory of that night haunted her dreams for the longest time, it had taken her years to forgive herself and even then she never went long without thinking about it.  
Caroline realized her silence had given her away, Elijah's eyes were compassionate as he watched her, Rebekah was more suspicious and Stefan just seemed slightly confused. Obviously, this new discovery hadn't been anything they'd been expecting, but to be fair, she wasn't exactly exstatic about the whole thing either. _

_Her entire life she'd lived under the belief that she was a perfectly normal human girl, then she was suddenly playing the lead character in "a series of unfortunate incidents" and adding a small twist here and another twist there, and all of a sudden she wasn't even a normal unlucky human anymore. Werewolf. _

_**What the hell did that even mean?!**_

_If she took of the necklace, was she going to suddenly sprout a tail and paws and run around marking her territory by peeing all over the place?  
"Caroline?" Elijah's voice snapped her out of her inner musings and she swallowed and avoided his gaze, her hands fisted in her lap as she sucked in a deep breath, preparing to talk about something she'd been trying to forget for years.  
"It was an accident," she murmured quietly and reached up to tuck a stray curl behind her ear, the other hand wrapping around the amulet again.  
"It was my high school graduation and a bunch of us were going to a lake nearby to celebrate. There was this guy, Derek, we'd been messing around a couple of times and that night he pulled me away from the larger crowd and up to one of the cliffs that we used to jump from. It was weird, maybe it was the alcohol, but something about that night never really felt right to me, like something was seriously wrong with him. Derek was the school's quarterback with the arrogance to go with the position, but he was always a nice guy, you know? But that night... he wouldn't take no for answer and everytime I told him to stop or back off he just got that much more aggressive."_

_Pausing she looked up to see the three vampires exchange cautious glances, but she didn't have time to worry about that now, and the part of her brain that was telling her to shut up because she didn't want them to judge her, she smothered. These people were vampires, they couldn't judge her for shit._

_"I tried to walk away when he grabbed me and wrestled me to the ground, I fought him so hard, but when I looked into his eyes it was like there was nothing there. No life, no conciens, nothing of Derek and I panicked when he used one hand to push my dress up, managing to free one of my hands I slashed out and scratched his face and he recoiled. I used the moment of freedom to wiggle out from beneath him and grabbed a jagged rock, so when he came for me again I swung the rock and it connected with the side of his head. He was bleeding, his eyes huge as he stumbled back and then he disappeared down the edge of the cliff." The police had ruled his death a tragic mix between self-defense and accident, when he'd hit the water he'd smashed his head into another rock and with the alcohol in his system it hadn't taken him long to drown. _

Caroline reached up to wipe a stray tear as she shoved the horrible memory to the back of her mind. That day had nearly destroyed her, the guilt had come close to eating her alive, Derek had been one of her best friends before that night and she had no idea what had gotten into him. She'd seen him drunk before and he never had a habit of forcing himself on unwilling girls; the worst part was that if he hadn't pushed the way he did, she might have slept with him that night. She'd been in love with him, had wanted to be in a relationship with him, but then it was like he'd become some kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and part of her life had been forever destroyed as his was lost.

_"If I know our brother, judging from what Caroline shared, I'd say he more than knows Rebekah"_ Caroline frowned at Elijah's words, as if his brother had anything to do with that night. He couldn't have, could he? Turning on her heel she walked back into the house and found Elijah and Rebekah in the main room, Elijah leaning by the fireplace and Rebekah seated on the sofa. Stefan stood by the window and the still unconcious Damon was slumped over in a chair next to his brother.  
"What do you mean, "your brother more than knows"?" Rebekah looked to Elijah who shook his head subtly, but she caught the move and narrowed her eyes.  
"What are you not telling me? And what exactly is it you need from me?" Rebekah flipped her hear over her shoulder and glanced down at her nails in a classic mean-girl move that made Caroline want to roll her eyes, but she was too focused on the silent conversation going on around her to even bother.  
"What makes you think we need something from you?" Caroline arched a brow at the superior note in Rebekah's voice and folded arms in a defensive move.  
"Apparently I'm a werewolf, you're a vampire, if you didn't need me for something you would have killed me already. I shot, pushed and broke Damon's neck without any of you making a move against me, and you stitched me up before I could bleed to death. Obviously you need me alive, and by the way your talking about me behind my back I'd say that's all the proof I need that you're keeping something from me and I want to know what."

Everyone went quiet, cautious looks being exchanged by Rebekah and Elijah - whom Caroline had deduced was in charge - and Caroline felt her frustration build to a dangerously high level.  
"You know what, screw all of this and screw you guys. Whatever it is you're not telling me, I'll find out sooner or later, but if you won't let me know what the hell is going on I have other things to do today." She didn't even wait to let them respond before she turned around and headed for the front door, only for Elijah to appear in front of her out of nowhere, blocking her exit and forcing her to retrace a few of her steps.  
"I can assure you Caroline, it is not wise of you to venture alone at the moment. It is best for you to stay here with us, where we can protect you, I do not want to keep you against your will, but I must do what is necessary to save us all."  
"Then stop being so secretive and just tell me what the hell this is all about?! And can someone please tell me why it's so damn important for everyone that I "_stay safe"?_" she made airquotations with her fingers and spun back around to face Rebekah and Stefan too, glancing over at Damon when he groaned and straightened in the chair he was in.

Her body tensed, preparing for an attack, even as Elijah moved to put himself between them. Caroline didn't know the first thing about these people, apart from the fact that they were all vampires and for some reason, they needed her and apparently they knew more about her than she did, which wasn't disconcerting at all.

"Ow," Peeking around Elijah's shoulder, Caroline watched Damon crane his neck, his eyes flashing with violence as he zeroed in on her. Nostrils flaring, fangs on display, Damon was out of the chair and across the room so fast she didn't have time to blink. It was instinct to back up, her mind screaming at her to run, but before Damon could get withing reaching distance of her, Elijah had him in a chokehold and she sucked in a breath as she watched the older vampire fling him across the room as if he weighed nothing.

"Calm yourself Damon," Straightening his jacket, Elijah kept his eyes on Damon and Caroline stayed quiet as she watched the altercation transpire.  
"Calm myself? The bitch snapped my neck!" Narrowing her eyes, Caroline could feel her temper flare, wanting to lash out in violence she reigned herself in by clenching her jaw and planting her feet to the floor.

"Yes, and you tried to kill her, I'd say Caroline was justified in her actions," She found it so strange, how incredibly calm Elijah was being, even with Damon ready to cause bloody mayhem.

"Ugh, screw this, I need a drink," Shooting her one last withering look, Damon turned his back and disappeared out of the room and Caroline instantly relaxed. She didn't know what it was about Damon that had her so on edge, but one thing Caroline knew for sure, she did not like him. Apart from being a complete asshole douchebag, he just struck her as a really horrible person, she pitied the people in his life that was stuck with him. She couldn't even wrap her mind around the fact that he was Stefan's brother, they were so completely different it didn't make any sense. Even though she didn't know Stefan, there was just something about him, he seemed like a genuinely good person, it was all just very confusing.

Sighing, she walked around Elijah to the chair Damon had been in, slumping down she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.  
"Look, I'm all kinds of confused and tired right now, can somebody please just tell me what's going on?" When Elijah spoke up she wasn't surprised, it seemed like everyone was taking their cues from him, and he was probably the most sensible person in the room.

"I will tell you everything in due time, miss Forbes. Right now, I'm asking you to trust me, and allow us to keep you safe for the time being,"

Every fiber of her being wanted to argue, to demand the information they were keeping from her, but she knew it wouldn't lead to anything. Elijah seemed determined to keep her out of the loop, and it was clear he wasn't going to budge anytime soon, so she kept her mouth shut and relented with a regretful nod.

* * *

Elena Gilbert put the teddybear and burning candle on the ground, a tear sliding down her cheek as she remembered all the good times she'd spent with Melanie Jameson, she still couldn't believe she was really gone.

The police was still looking for her, Melanie and all the other girls that had gone missing the last month, but somehow Elena knew they were all dead. It wasn't something she could explain, but all her life she had been able to feel things, sense things, that other people couldn't. Bonnie thought she might be a little psychic, but it didn't feel like that, she just felt... different.

"Elena," turning around, she managed a smile as Bonnie walked across the parkinglot, a candle and framed photograph in her hands. They were having a sleepover at Elena's house later, but they'd both decided to visit the memorial outside the high school first, just to show their respect and thoughts for the missing girls.

"Hey Bon,"

Bonnie put the candle on the ground next to her, borrowing Elena's lighter to light the flame, before standing and wrapping one arm around Elena's waist.

"I can't believe none of them have been found yet," It was the talk of the town, the parent of every teenage girl was being overly protective, hers included and the Sheriff had initiated a nine o'clock curfew.

"I know, my parents barely let me out of the door today. This whole thing seems so surreal," Bonnie sighed and looked down at the pictureframe, and Elena felt emotion clogg her throat. It was a picture of the three of them, her, Bonnie and Melanie. Mel was blonde in the picture, her smile vibrant as she stood on Elena's porch, all three of them dressed up in ballgowns for the annual founders ball, that was less than a year ago. It wasn't until recently that Mel had dyed her hair brown, wanting to "expand her horizons" and Elena remembered standing in Mel's bathroom and helping her apply the color with Bonnie laughing as she got the dye all over her clothes in the process.

"I hear the sheriff has called in the FBI, they think it might be a serial killer," It made sense, with four girls missing and no leads, this wasn't something that had happened before.  
"I just hope they turn up soon, I want all of this to be over," Bonnie said nothing, just rubbed the picture affectionately with her thumb before placing it in front of the candles next to the teddy bear.  
"We should go before your parents freak out," With one last look at the memorial, they made their way to Elena's car across the lot, both of them unaware of the dark figure watching them from the shadows.


End file.
